


The Time In Between

by FlorenceofArabia



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Depression, Dreams and Nightmares, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-07 04:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17358962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlorenceofArabia/pseuds/FlorenceofArabia
Summary: Steve Rogers and Tony Stark could not be more at odds but somehow keep being drawn back together





	1. The Sound of Your Heart

I don’t regret it but I’m glad that we’re through  
So don’t you tell me that you just don’t get it ‘cause I know you  
Well I know we go ‘round cause I know the sound,  
I know the sound of your heart  
\- The Sound by The 1975

August 2017

“Hey Steve, can I ask you a question?”  
“You just asked me a question, Tony”  
“Very funny, now when you’re done making dad jokes can I ask you a serious question?”  
“That was a dad joke? I thought it was a mom joke, my mom used to say that at any rate”  
Tony had a feeling that Sarah Rogers was the kind of woman who liked to get straight to the point and not beat around the bush. The clock on the bedside table said 3:00am but he was feeling wide awake. He scowled at it and put in the drawer, with what he assumes is the room service menu. Everything became that much darker without the artificial blue glow. For a moment he considered letting it be. Steve had looked pretty worn out when he’d opened the door a few hours ago, visible dark circles and everything. But he’d still made their rendezvous, he always did. Barring some major disaster of course.  
“Rogers?”  
“Ok shoot” Steve yawned “Whats your very serious question?”  
“Would you ever consider running away with me?” The other man turned towards him, although both their faces were obscured by shadow  
“Do you really think thats a good idea? Even if I agreed to it, the way I figure we’d just fight all the time” He sounded sad, there was no hint of annoyance in his voice. As if he was filing it away as another version of the happy life he’d never get to live.  
“We’re not fighting now” Tony prompted knowing it wouldn’t do much good. Steve was firmly convinced that somethings just wouldn’t change, no matter how much you wanted them to.  
“Thats because we’re not talking about the real issues. Anyway where would we go? Lets pretend I’m not a wanted fugitive and say nowhere’s off the table”  
“I’ll buy us an island somewhere in the South Pacific, go completely off the grid, stop reading the news…”  
‘Stop being Iron Man and Captain America’ he thinks ‘Just be Tony and Steve’ He thinks about sandy beaches and coconuts and never having to answer his phone again  
“That does sound nice. I could bring my oils and some canvas, do some quality painting” He couldn’t tell if Steve was indulging him or actually liked the idea “But I’d probably get real sunburnt and wouldn’t you get bored without a project to work on?”  
“Fair point.” He casts his mind around for a place that had made him imagine vanishing “Have you ever been to Croatia?”  
“I was just there in May” Tony remembered hearing something about Sokovian arms dealers getting busted in the capitol of Croatia, or maybe it was the capitol of Slovenia? Anyway it was a few months ago and he wasn’t allowed to get involved in any conflict outside of the United States anyway.  
“So I was there a while ago and I took a wrong turn down one of those twisty hillside roads that you pray no one else is driving on…anyway I cam across this totally dilapidated villa. It had turned into a real dump but it was probably beautiful in its day but it was just sitting there and it had the most amazing view. Anyway I just remember thinking how fun it would be to just drop everything and fix it up and just…you know build a lab in the basement or something. I figured you’d like that too, you know you like old stuff” He swallowed a lame joke about how Steve was old stuff or could relate or something like that. He also failed to mention that he had imagined it as a surprise for Pepper but his old lover and his new one had overlapping tastes.  
Steve took a second to respond;  
“I like it, that would be a nice project for both of us” Hell, they could probably get the train from here. Assuming Steve could actually travel by train without getting busted.  
“Have you ever thought about something like that? Getting away from it all?” Tony doesn’t want to ask if he was seriously considering it. He wonders if there’s any version of this he would consider  
“I have actually.” Steve answers that one right away “Remember when I went to Ireland. It was right after we met?”  
“Ah yes, your Quiet Man phase”  
“Yeah that trip.” Silence. He gently poked Steve, not exactly sure where  
“Come on, you have to tell the story” Another yawn but Steve obliged  
“When I was there, I don’t know it just felt…right. I was staying in this bed and breakfast and I got to know the lady who owned the place and she was…she was my age so her kids and grandkids had moved away and didn’t care about it. So when I was about to leave she asked if I wanted to buy it and take it over. And…” Tony had a feeling that if anyone else recounted that, it would be longer but he filled in the details  
“And you wanted to. You were tempted to hang up the shield and become “Steve Rogers, Friendly Local Bed and Breakfast Guy”? Did she know who you were?”  
“She knew my name and that my parents were from County Clare and that and that I’d seen all of her favorite movies. But she didn’t follow the news. She’d heard that some aliens had attacked New York but that was about it.”  
“So you just failed to tell her some really important information and kept her in the dark”  
“Sort of like all those times you’ve neglected to tell people about what you were doing behind their backs…" he had shifted into a lower register, never a good sigh but then his tone softened "Now we’re going to fight again, I guess” Tony didn’t feel like fighting either and wished he hadn’t made that crack. He hated proving Steve right when it came to sad truths.  
“So what made you say no?” Is all he says instead  
“I don’t know how to run a bed and breakfast” He said and Tony snorted  
“Bullshit. Why’d you really say no?” He tried desperately to read the look on Steve’s face. The only part of him that was visible was a slim, diagonal bar cast by the streetlight coming through the gap in the curtains.  
“Because it wouldn’t have fixed anything. No matter where you go, your problems go with you.” He sounded so tired  
“How are you supposed to inspire people when you’re so damn worldweary?”  
“I guess it comes down to...have you seen Lord of the Rings?”  
Tony laughed “Of course, what the hell kind of question is that?” Steve turned away so that he was facing the ceiling before speaking  
“There’s a line from Aragorn that stuck with me…’I give hope to men. I keep none for myself’”


	2. Echo

I don’t really know where the world is but I’m missing out  
I’m on the edge and I’m screaming my name, like a fool at the top of my lungs  
Sometimes when I close my eyes, I pretend I’m alright but its never enough  
‘Cause my echo, echo is the only voice coming back  
\- Echo by Jason Walker 

April 2012

Bucky is falling away from the train, away from him. Steve loses his grip and dives too. Now he is falling and the ground is coming up to meet him until…  
He jerks awake covered in cold sweat. 

Steve takes some deep breaths, pulls off his tee shirt and throws it one the floor. Then he moves to the side of the bed and tries to count in Italian so that he can’t think about anything else. Somewhere past sessanta he is able to drift off again.

He is lying on a slab in the morgue. Everything is deathly cold and try as he might he can’t move. People are clustered around him. Mary Barnes is comforting his mother. She’s right above him so the beads of her rosary dangle in front of his face. But he can’t hear what she’s saying. Their voices sound like they’ve been recorded on a bad phonograph. Bucky is there too, but he’s as Steve remembers him, when they were children. Bucky’s father takes the women away and the little boy trails behind. He begs them all not to go but his lips remain frozen and no sound comes out of his mouth.  
Peggy is there all of a sudden, in a black dress with white silk flowers perched on her shoulder and a veiled hat he’d seen her wear to funerals. She’s very composed but clearly fighting back tears “Oh I will miss him, if only he’d found some other way to land the plane.”  
“I know doll face, if only he’d let me talk him down. I have the answer to everything, don’t you know” Howard slides out of the shadows to wrap his arms around Peggy who turns to bury her face in his chest. Over the top of Peggy’s head Howard looks him in the eye and winks “Hold tight, my friend.”  
Doctor Erskine is suddenly there with Fury and a gaggle of SHIELD agents. “Its unfortunate really” He sighs “I had such high hopes. I guess there’s nothing for it…we’ll have to perform an autopsy”. Steve tries to move, tries to call out but its as though his body doesn’t belong to him. Now they are all replaced by Red Skull with an assortment of rusty medical tools who starts cutting him open. The pain feels real and Schmitt can tell. He laughs and pulls his organs out out to examine more closely.  
“I’m not dead! I’m not dead! I’m not…”

Steve wakes up screaming. 

This time there’s no hope of getting back to sleep again so he goes out to the kitchen to make himself some tea. There’s no kettle here but they taught him to use the microwave and he figures the button that says “beverage” ought to do the job. The sun is just beginning to creep through the window as his tea finishes steeping. He moves to the living room and opens the book he was trying to read before he gave up and went to bed. It was a long and rather dry history of the 20th century. Or it would be dry to someone who had a general understanding of things like the Vietnam War but for him it full of disturbing new revelations.

He’s grateful to Fury for letting him have some alone time to process everything. But now he’s no longer surrounded by people, the quiet is starting to wear him down. He doesn’t have to go into the shower to cry anymore, which is a relief. Every little noise puts his teeth on edge and he finds himself staring off into space for hours when he’s supposed to be reading. Then there’s that file; sooner or later he’ll have to read it. He struggles through the end of the chapter and looks at the photos of wounded soldiers, crying Vietnamese children, students with long hair and protest signs, and amidst all the black and white chaos, a familiar face. Howard Stark smiles back at him, twenty years older and shaking hands with President Johnson. He’d made weapons for that war, not the really nasty stuff like the Napalm and Agent Orange…but still. He had to have known more about what was going on than most people. Why had he chosen to support it? Clearly plenty had. Steve had just thought that after the…his war he supposed it was now, Howard would have gone back to his other projects. But then again he had never really known Howard. He didn’t know if anyone had. Maybe Peggy but…he didn’t want to think about that right now. He gives up and puts the book down

The only thing that makes him feel calmer is exercise, he’s never gotten over how it feels to be able to run like he can with this body. Steve finds that he has to give the 21st century credit for a few things, namely that athletic wear had gotten significantly more comfortable. It’s a lovely morning too, it’ll probably get hot later but right now the temperature is perfect. Already he finds he can focus one positives if he tries very hard with the bad dreams starting to fade away.  
There’s a trail through the woods that he likes to use because most of the time he has it to himself and doesn’t have to worry about other joggers. But unfortunately today is the exception. He turns a corner faster than he intended and standing there is young woman who jumps a little. She’s holding the leash of a very large German Shepard which proceeds to bark at him. Suddenly he’s crouched on the ground behind a tree, snow falling all around him. Dogs are barking, heavy boots pound the frozen ground, men are shouting in German. 

“I’m so sorry, I hope we didn’t scare you” The air around him is warm again and he sees the girl, she’s stopped to take a drink from her water bottle. He dog is still barking and straining at its leash to get to Steve.  
“He’s actually really friendly, he just wants to say hi”  
“Sorry…I…I was startled and I’ve just had some bad experiences with that breed” he crouches down even though he’s apprehensive. She turns out to have been right, as soon as the dog gets near him it’s tail begins to wag furiously and it jumps up to lick his face. Steve laughs and it surprises even him.  
“Whats his name?” Steve asks  
“This is Leo, he’s a rescue. He thinks he’s protecting me but I have a sneaking suspicion that he’d let a burglar wander around the house if he got his belly rubbed”  
“You should probably get yourself an alarm then” He keeps his attention firmly on Leo who keeps finding new ways to try and climb on him.  
“Don’t worry, I do…hey…I don’t mean to be rude but you look super familiar for some reason. I feel like I’ve seen you on tv…” Well, there goes the first normal conversation he’s had in a long time.  
“I know!” she exclaimed “You play the hunky werewolf from that one soap opera!”  
Werewolves were attractive now? 2012 was proving to be a strange year.  
“No, ma’m I think you must have me confused with someone else. Thanks for letting me pet your dog”  
“Jeez I’m sorry, well it was nice meeting you!” He nodded at her and headed off deeper into the forest.  
‘See Rogers’ he tells himself ‘Dogs aren’t scary. You’ve never been afraid of them before. You shouldn’t be now’ But it hadn’t been the dog that had spooked him, it was the approach of German soldiers, who his conscious self knew, were probably long dead. Eventually he makes his way back to the cabin to find a missed call on his small portable phone. He was hesitating over weather or not to call the number back when the phone rang again and he had little choice but to pick up.  
“Good morning Captain.” It was Agent Coulson’s voice on the other end “Hope I haven’t woken you”  
“That’s very considerate but no need to worry, I’m an early riser. Just got back from a run.”  
“Sounds like you’re keeping busy. Hope you’re not getting too lonely up there.” Coulson was good at that, asking sensitive questions in a way that made you think the answer wasn’t as big a deal as it really was. He appreciated it but he kind of preferred Fury’s habit of just asking him if he was crazy.  
“I’m fine, I made friends with a dog this morning” Which sounds worse than if he just said he was lonely  
“That’s too cute. Would you like to come back to New York, maybe I can introduce you to some human friends?”  
He isn’t ready to go back to New York but he also isn’t ready to admit that;  
“I’ll go pack my things”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys remember 2012? Boy do I feel old. Also, yes, I was referencing CapWolf


	3. Pavlov’s Bell

Because nobody knows  
That's how I nearly fell  
Trading clothes  
And ringing Pavlov's bell  
History shows  
There's not a chance in hell  
\- Pavlov’s Bell by Aimee Mann 

April 2012  
“So you have absolutely no interest in meeting with him?”  
“I don’t see the point and I’m busy and it’s not like we’re going to have to work together so I don’t see the point. We’re going in a loop di loop here”

It was spring in New York City and they were seated out on the terrace. It was warm, the cherry trees were blooming, the Met was so full of tourists there was no way Pepper would try to drag him there; all good things. It was a beautiful morning, or rather it would be if he weren’t nursing a hangover and trying to end an unscheduled meeting with Nick Fury, who didn’t look like he was leaving anytime soon. 

“Don’t be so certain of that last one, Stark”  
“What the part about the loop di loop?” Fury gave him a long hard stare in response. Tony took another sip of Bloody Mary and cursed Jarvis for never having written down the recipe for that hangover tonic of his.   
“The part about you not having to learn to play nice with Rogers. What is your problem with him exactly? You say you’re busy but you seem fine making time for Doctor Banner.” It was oddly difficult not to look Fury in the eye.   
“Banner is a fellow scientist and as such might have something worthwhile to say. Also his powers are just plain cool.”  
“Don’t be offended Director” The sound of clacking heels announced Pepper’s arrival on the terrace. Fury stood up and shook her hand before she dropped gracefully onto the chaise between the two of them. She was holding a tablet but doesn’t seem inclined to pull it out and show him whatever was on it so it must not be too urgent.

“Tony doesn’t think anyone matters whose not in STEM. The first time we met, Maria Stark asked me what I wanted to study in college and I said Art History. Her son, that one there, laughed out loud and said it was useless. Maria double majored in Classics and Music in case you were wondering”   
“I’m still not wrong” Tony shrugged. Why had Pepper brought up what his mother studied in college? He didn’t even know that. Was she implying that he offended her with his assessment of Pepper’s humanities degree?  
“Must have been love at first sight” Deadpanned Fury   
“Even I must admit that Tony’s a bit of an acquired taste but he does grow on you. Anyway why don’t you want to meet Rogers? I’d be interested in anyone from the 1940s who woke up right now without experiencing the last few decades. What would they think? What would be the hardest things for them to wrap their head around? How would our future compare to their idea of the future?”  
Both of them were staring at Tony now

“I don’t want to hear a bunch of depressing war stories that I’ve probably heard before. Besides I really can’t see us having anything in common” Tony was telling the truth on this one. Not all the truth mind you, but he wasn’t lying.   
“Probably wants me to tell him how great he is and give him a blowjob or something” He added, sometimes a little crudeness could go a long way towards shutting down an already uncomfortable conversation   
“I don’t think he’s had the time or inclination to read that book yet”   
“What book? Wait” He turned to Pepper who pursed her lips “It’s not the one that’s had your panties in a twist these past couple of weeks?”   
“That’s a sexist expression and it would be amazing if you could retire it.” She said, shooting him her best venomous tight lipped smile. “Also it’s poorly researched, pot boiler trash, and the author insults my mother. So, yeah, this thing has been on my nerves recently” 

That it had. The book in question was a recent biography of Tony’s late lamented father which claimed to reveal “shocking truths” about his sexuality. So, naturally, Tony had dismissed it along with all the supermarket tabloids that claimed to reveal “shocking truths” about his sexuality without bothering to check what the particular accusation was. Probably something about Howard impregnating or getting an STD from an actress that he’d never met, based on his extensive experience with the rumor mill. Pepper’s mother, the late lamented Samantha Potts, had once worked for (and of course dated) Tony’s father. She tended to be left out of biographies so her inclusion here seemed especially petty

“If it’s any consolation Ms. Potts, everyone I know who read it didn’t notice the part with your mother. They’ve just been sharing that one photo of Stark Sr. and Director Carter dressed up as Morticia and Gomez Addams for a Halloween party back in the 60s”   
“OMG, that’s a photo that exists? You have got to show it to me...Uh JARVIS please scour around the web and find that...wait what does Rogers have to do with any of this?”   
There was an uncomfortable silence.   
“This conversation lost me when you said OMG out loud...ironically. I’m going to head out.” Said Fury “Good day Ms. Potts. Stark, I’ll be seeing around”

“What does Rogers have to do with any of this?” He asked again after the director had left.   
“So this book...aside from calling my mother a bimbo...makes the assertion that your dad’s...well documented...womanizing was in fact a smoke screen to hide the fact that he was...um...gay”   
Tony laughed entirely too hard and immediately regretted it.   
“Yeah that was my reaction too, but he does have solid evidence that your father...had relationships with other men”   
“So have I” Tony snapped before remembering who he was talking to and that his headache wasn’t her fault and moderating his tone “That doesn’t make him gay that just meant he’d bone anything with a hole. Why do people have so much trouble with the idea that bisexuals exist...didn’t that used to be the default setting for guys back in, like Ancient Rome?”  
“People in classical antiquity would have defined their sexuality in a very different way than we do today, so it’s hard to say for certain that anyone living at that time would have self identified as…” if Pepper wore glasses she’d be adjusting them right about now to settle in for a long lecture.   
“Ok yeah sure, everything’s relative, Kinsey Scale yada yada...why does this bother you so much aside from the crack about your mother?” 

Pepper took a second to gather her thoughts and Tony realized that he had distracted her from one info dump only to be treated to another. He finished his Bloody Mary and mentally prepared to zone out and nod a lot.  
“I want to start out by saying that, even though I’m not LGBTQ myself, I see the value in questioning the sexuality of prominent historical figures. It’s important to gay people to know that they aren’t some footnote and they weren’t invented 20 years ago. I think if more people knew about the Starks being bisexual it would be a good thing for visibility and although you both fit into certain uncomfortable stereotypes…”  
“Because we bone anything with a hole?”  
“Your words not mine. But even though I don’t think it’s a bad thing if some kid who looks up to you thinks it’s ok that he likes boys because Tony Stark does too…”  
“Are you saying I’m inspirational?” He interrupted   
“You could be, now will you let me finish?”   
“Sure, I’ll hang on to that one for later. Continue”

“My problem is that, especially when dealing with recent events...you know people who still have living friends and relatives...this kind of thing often gets invasive and devolves into gossip. At what point is an author trying to paint a complete picture of a subject and at what point are they rooting through their dirty laundry? Does a famous figure have any right to their privacy? Does it matter if they were a private person or one who revealed a great deal to the public? Then you run into a problem I have with a lot of art history scholarship. I feel like a lot of historians can’t tell the difference between using someone’s sexuality to contextualize their life and having it to completely define or...God forbid...explain them. Then you bring up a good point when you talk about people not understanding bisexuality. A lot of these academics are old straight white guys who seem to have trouble understanding any orientation “between JFK and Liberace”, as my mom used to say. Like... some of the speculation about Rogers, I think, is really weird. Some writers are so hung up on his being a virgin when he died which…”  
“Haha Rogers is a 90 year old virgin” Tony interrupted because no way was he going to let that slide.   
“Very funny, what are you twelve?...to start with no one knows for certain...we didn’t even know he was dead, he’s been listed as MIA all these years...but also no one brings up the idea that he might have been asexual or that he might have any psychological issues related to being severely ill for most of his life. And the author of this book just handwaves the idea that a fairly religious man in the 40s might have been uncomfortable with the idea of premarital sex…” 

“So that’s how he fits into this thing about my dad?”  
“I was getting to that. So this author is convinced that Rogers was also a closet case. That he and Carter were never a thing and that was added posthumously because it made a better story and to head off any rumors about him and Barnes…because those just seem to keep cropping up...” Tony hadn’t actually heard that before but it made sense   
“Ok that’s...is he calling Peggy a liar? Because that’s libel and her family should sue”  
“Not quite, more that she misinterpreted their relationship as romantic when really Rogers just saw her as a friend and...um...actually having an affair with your dad. He uses your dad’s attempts to find Rogers and a lot of the very hagiographic statements he made as evidence they were secretly in love...but allegedly Howard couldn’t say anything so he pushed the Carter cover up and that losing Rogers caused him to suffer a breakdown and start drinking...because it’s not like the stress he was under during the war could have been the cause of that…Tony? Are you ok? You know this is bunk right?”

He snapped his head around to face Pepper, only now realizing that he’d been staring off into space.  
“Sure...bunk...yeah it sounds pretty dumb. Don’t worry about it. This guy’s a hack. What are his credentials even?”   
“He’s a “cultural critic” whose written a couple of Golden Age Hollywood biographies and some magazine articles”   
“So, not even a real academic is what you’re saying? Look, don’t worry about it. I’m sure it's buzz worthy now because Rogers is back but soon a bunch of actually historians will write more thoughtful analyses or whatever…”  
“And you think anyone’s going to read that?” Tony got up from his chair and turned to face Pepper   
“Hell no, just like no one will actually read this book. You’re basically the only person who reads these days...that’s why you have all these facts and opinions and stuff whirring around your brain” And with that he kissed her on the forehead.   
“As for me I’ll take a nap. See you this evening for dinner”   
“How much did you have to drink last night?”   
“See you at dinner!”

He got back to his room, well one of his rooms, quickly enough. But once the blinds had lowered themselves and he was lying in bed he found it hard to sleep. Pepper was right, the book sounded like a bunch of rumors and speculation but...what if? 

Aunt Peggy ever publicly admitted that she and Rogers were lovers? She never answered questions about the precise nature of their relationship. He was pretty sure they’d kissed once and that was it as far as anyone was concerned. He’d never been especially close to his godmother. She and dad always retreated to the study for long serious talks about “boring grown up things” or when he got older “contract stuff” or when he was especially persistent “none of your damn business”. Then there were all the rumors about their relationship, which he’d never bought. This was one where he actually believed dad’s side of the story.   
“You want to stay friends with someone kid? Well...it’s complicated...but rule number one is don’t shtupp ‘em. You want to try being lovers? Go ahead but whether it works out or not it’s going to be the end of your friendship”   
This was a piece of advice he’d taken to heart, so much so that he had yet to officially consummate his relationship with Pepper. To all appearances they were a couple but neither of them were too eager to rush things. Or maybe she didn’t trust him. Maybe she thought he was playing a game with her, that once the chase was over he’d lose interest.

“It’s not too late to change” he says out loud   
Could Captain America have been anything but straight? Peggy and dad had shared so many secrets over the course their lives together. Had this been one of them? They had both acted as if Rogers was a mutual loss and maybe he had been. He tried to picture them together but it felt so off, just ended up looking like a weird forgotten reel of an old black and white movie. But that would explain the bizarre level of devotion his father had always exhibited for his lost...what? Friend? Comrad? Lover? If they had been together had dad ever gotten over him? Had he ever really moved on? Ever really loved his wife? If he’d wanted to avoid Rogers before, that thought really made Tony want to get out of having to swap pleasantries with him. 

If Rhodey were here right now, he would say he was being childish and petty, that whatever had gone on between the two men was none of his business. As usual, Rhodey had a valid point, it was a little pathetic for a grown ass man to be jealous of daddy’s affection for his old war buddies. If only he could dismiss all of this as easily as Pepper had. Even if some of the rumors were demonstrably dumb, the fact that some of them could be plausible, only underscored the truth he’d been grappling with ever since he came back from Afghanistan. Regardless of what new information he may learn, nothing would change the fact that his father would remain essentially unknownable to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am legitimately fascinated by the historiography of the WWII era in the MCU. Also I’m super interested in queer historiography irl so I wanted to combine the two.   
> One of the few things we know about Pepper is that she has strong opinions on art and manages Tony’s collection. So her having an art history background doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, hope you enjoy this! I think that the relationship between Steve and Tony has the potential to be really interesting but hasn’t been developed very well in the movies. So this will be canon divergent.  
> I just want to be right upfront about a couple of things. Captain America is my favorite character in the MCU and I’m pretty staunchly Pro Team Cap. I also stan Howard Stark. If you’re not feeling that you might not enjoy this fic. It’s not bashing, everyone is flawed but also sympathetic because that’s just my favorite way to write characters.


End file.
